With spring practice winding down and the 2015 season coming into clearer focus, we look around the conference to hand out some superlatives for the upcoming season to the SEC’s best along the defensive line.

Biggest — Matt Elam, Kentucky: Elam is a mountain of a football player. He got to campus last year reportedly carrying more than 390 pounds on his 6-foot-7 frame, and while he’s reportedly down to around 360 pounds he’s still one of the largest linemen in all of college football. Elam recorded 10 tackles in 12 game last year and is expected to play a bigger role for the Wildcats this season as he continues to shed some weight and work his way into every-down condition.

Fastest — Myles Garrett, Texas A&M: There’s no defensive end in the SEC as explosive as Garrett, who set the SEC freshman sacks record last fall with 11.5 quarterback takedowns. The rising sophomore tweeted that he clocked a ridiculous 4.46-second 40-yard dash during off-season workouts. That’s almost a full tenth of a second faster than what Jadeveon Clowney recorded in his blinding NFL scouting combine run a year ago. As Garrett gains strength and a better aptitude for stopping the run, he’ll become even more of a force in conference play.

Strongest — Da’Shawn Hand, Alabama: We haven’t gotten to see much from the former five-star recruit quite yet, although he did make the Freshman All-SEC team last fall in limited snaps. On top of his pedigree, there’s good reason to think Hand will step up as a sophomore; namely, his other-worldly strenght. There aren’t too many players who can casually throw up 42 repetitions of 225 pounds on the bench press, which Hand did over the winter. If he can push offensive tackles around in the same manner, he’ll

Best pass rusher — Derek Barnett, Tennessee: Barnett’s consistency over the course of his freshman season earns him the nod over his classmate over at Texas A&M, Garrett. He recorded at least one sack in five of his eight SEC tilts in 2014, including three multi-sack efforts in conference play. That ability to handle the best of the best gives him the edge over Garrett, and alongside Curt Maggitt, Barnett gives Tennessee one of the best bookends in the conference.

Best run stopper — Harold Brantley, Missouri: The Tigers have been synonymous with defensive end play since joining the conference, producing two straight SEC Defensive Player of the Year winners, but this year it’ll be a defensive tackle leading the D-Line Zou. At 6-foot-3 and 290 pounds, Brantley has both the size and athleticism to anchor yet another excellent line. He posted 54 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks on a line with two dominant pass rushers, and those numbers — and his impact — are set to increase as he takes on a leadership role.

Most necessary to double-team — Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss: Nkemdiche’s presence in the middle of the Rebels defensive line makes Ole Miss one of the toughest defenses in the SEC. The rising junior faces near-constant double-teams and often sees three blockers as he comes off the snap. All the attention Nkemdiche draws helps free up defensive ends Marquis Haynes and C.J. Johnson to thrive in their one-on-one matchups.